During this preview, I spent around two and a half hours playing PvE mode Horde Siege and another hour and a half in PvP mode Versus, and anyone who's played previous Gears of War games will feel right at home.That’s because it has that distinct gritty, gothic and industrial aesthetic, with the world itself feeling bleak from the outset. It’s refreshing to see a game fully embrace its visual identity instead of trading it for added realism, right down to the gruesome gore and bloody finishing animations.If that sounds like I’m saying Gears of War doesn’t look great, that’s absolutely not the case. Rather, it's that the world feels incredibly immersive because of its art direction, and it deserves to be applauded for that.Trying different classes in Horde Siege is an absolute thrill (The Coalition & People Can Fly, XBOX Game Studios)And so do the playable characters. Human and Locust soldiers alike feel satisfyingly weighty in the way they move and interact, giving you that classic Gears of War feeling once again. Even classic gameplay mechanics, such as reload timing windows, are back too. This really is quintessential Gears of War brought back to life in 2026.Horde Siege is a 12-player PvE mode where three teams of four pursue objectives before extracting successfully. Sticking with the positives for the moment, classes are back and each one feels genuinely distinct, providing crucial roles for players of all types.There’s the mid-range Assault, close-range Breacher, long-range Marksman and mid-range healer Medic. It's fun trying out each class, as mastering each one has a crucial bearing on the overall outcome, no matter the length of the match.In this preview, I tried both Blitz and Siege missions. Blitz missions are shorter, while Siege missions are longer.The two modes are very similar in principle though – you head to a section of the map, complete an objective by taking out Locust swarms or holding down an area, move on to the next objective, repeat and extract. Siege missions simply feature more objectives, adding to the difficulty.Both modes are incredibly fun and engaging. You really feel like you have to work together while making sure you're pulling your own weight in order to complete the mission successfully.Although the objectives can be largely similar, they never felt repetitive during this preview. That's partly because towards the end of missions you'll come across other squads, and joining forces in larger groups to take down huge foes never lost its thrill.There’s also Horde, where you simply survive wave after wave of enemies, but I couldn't successfully connect to a match during this preview.Versus mode has lots of little classic frustrations that add up (The Coalition & People Can Fly, XBOX Game Studios)Moving on to Versus mode, this is sadly where the majority of my initial gripes with Gears of War: E-Day multiplayer lie.Remember some of the classic Gears of War multiplayer complaints about inconsistent shotgun damage, incredibly imbalanced teams and people leaving games at the slightest hint of hardship with little penalty? Well, they’re all here again.In Versus, I played Team Deathmatch and Conquest on two different maps. Each has its own selection of weapons to pick up and I have to say I really enjoyed my first match.It was Team Deathmatch and the teams were well balanced, with each round going down to the wire even though my side eventually lost overall. After that, I was really looking forward to seeing what else Versus had in store.But that was sadly about as good as it got.After that, I was plagued by inconsistent shotgun battles, thrown into lobbies with other relatively fresh faces against what appeared to be hardened veterans and got absolutely pummeled. I also had a match where we were on top, lost one objective by the tiniest margin and someone quit because the penalty is so minor, essentially ruining what had been a close and engaging contest by tipping the scales heavily in the other team's favour. The developers have said balancing and polish are still ongoing though.These may sound like small frustrations, but when you encounter them regularly, they do begin to wear on you. Thankfully, the PvE modes never fall into this trap, and I'm really looking forward to diving into more of those.Also, Gears of War: E-Day multiplayer looks fantastic in motion, and I found performance to be rock solid throughout.